After Akhanda 2, Karthi and Krithi Shetty's Vaa Vaathiyaar postponed over ₹21 crore debt. Madras HC case explained

The Madras High Court had ordered a temporary stay on the release of Karthi's Vaa Vaathiyaar over unpaid debts. The film has now been postponed.

After Akhanda 2 was postponed by a few days due to the debt owed to Eros International by 14 Reels, Vaa Vaathiyaar has faced a similar fate. Nalan Kumarasamy’s Karthi and Krithi Shetty-starrer received a stay from the Madras High Court over unpaid debt. A distributor for the film has now confirmed that the film’s release has been postponed from December 12.

Karthi and Krithi Shetty in a still from Nalan Kumarasamy's Vaa Vaathiyaar.

Madras High Court halts release of Vaa Vaathiyaar

Studio Green’s KE Gnanavel Raja, the producer of Vaa Vaathiyaar, faces an outstanding debt of ₹10.35 crore, which has increased to ₹21.78 crore due to accumulated interest. The sum was borrowed from businessman Arjunlal Sundardas, who was declared insolvent by the Madras HC in 2014. The official assignee managing the businessman’s assets has sought recovery of the amount.

After a hearing earlier this month, the HC took into consideration the assignee’s plea to halt the film’s release. At the hearing, the counsel argued that Gnanavel failed to repay the debt despite repeated opportunities to do so. The producer offered to pay ₹3.75 crore within 24 hours and offered property documents for the balance in the most recent hearing, but the court rejected the proposal. The HC has now ordered a stay on the release of Vaa Vaathiyaar across all platforms till the debt is repaid.

The court case stems from a lawsuit that started in 2011 after Gnanavel and Arjunlal agreed to co-produce a movie by investing ₹40 crore each. According to the agreement, the businessman invested ₹12.85 crore and subsequently withdrew from the project. Since he was declared insolvent in 2014, his assignee moved HC in 2016 seeking repayment of the ₹10 crore still owed with 18% interest from 2013.

Karthi's brother, Suriya, whose film Kanguva was released in 2024, also faced similar issues, but the full debt has yet to be repaid.

Distributor confirms Vaa Vaathiyaar’s postponement

Prathyangira Cinemas, which is distributing Vaa Vaathiyar in the US for both its Tamil and Telugu versions, confirmed the postponement of the film. In an X (formerly Twitter) post, they wrote, “@StudioGreen2 production has informed us that #VaaVaathiyaar (Tamil) and #AnnagaruVostaru (Telugu) have been postponed from their planned release on December 12 due to unforeseen circumstances.”

Studio Green has also announced on social media that Vaa Vaathiyaar will be ‘releasing soon’ without addressing the issue. A new release date has not been announced yet. The news has left fans shocked, given that Karthi and Krithi have been promoting the film consistently even through the court case. Many expected the financial hurdles to be cleared by Thursday.

Vaa Vaathiyaar, which will be released in Telugu as Annagaru Vostaru, was initially planned for release in January 2025 for Pongal, but was postponed to December 5. After the Madras HC temporarily halted the release, it was postponed to December 12.